A
Rollover IRA is an IRA that is used to hold assets that
have been distributed from an employer's retirement
plan, such as a 401(k) or Profit Sharing Plan. There
is no limit on the amount of money you can rollover.

401(k)
plans rolled over into a Rollover IRA, can now also
get rolled into a new employer's 403(b), 401(k) or 457
plans.

Why is there a separate IRA type for these assets?

By
keeping a Rollover account separate from your regular
IRA account, these assets can be segregated from regular
annual contributions that an individual may add. This
is especially important because if a regular contribution
is added to funds received from an employer's retirement
plan, these assets cannot be rolled to another employer's
retirement plan at a later date.

Isn't
there another kind of rollover between IRA accounts?

Yes.
There are two kinds of rollovers. A Direct Rollover
is discussed above. It is the movement of funds from
an employer-sponsored retirement account directly to
a Rollover IRA. The second type of rollover involves
only IRAs. Individuals are allowed to take a distribution
from their IRA and roll those assets from that IRA to
another IRA within 60 days of the receipt of the assets.
(The funds can even be rolled back into the same IRA.)
The same assets that are distributed must be redeposited
(i.e., cash out, cash in) and individuals may process
these rollovers only once every 12 months.

Wouldn't
moving assets from one IRA to another be considered
a transfer?

No.
The difference between a rollover between IRAs and transfers
between IRAs is the receipt of assets. If the IRA holder
receives assets, it is considered a distribution and
the deposit to the IRA is a rollover. Both transactions
are reported to the IRS.

If
the assets are moved between IRAs by the IRA custodians,
and the account holder never receives the assets, it
is considered a transfer and it is not reported to the
IRS.

How
do you transfer assets between IRAs?

You
can transfer assets from an IRA you hold at another
financial services firm to an IRA at BUYandHOLD. This
will be considered a transfer of existing assets, and
as such will not be reported as a contribution to your
IRA. To transfer all or part of the existing assets
you hold in an IRA at another financial services firm,
go to the Maintenance area in the "View Your Account"
section of our site and click on Printable Forms. Choose
the Brokerage Account Transfer Form, or click
here, then print the form, complete it and return
it to BUYandHOLD as per the instructions on the form.

BUYandHOLD,
a Division of Freedom Investments does not provide legal
or tax advice. Please consult with a tax planning professional
or the Internal Revenue Service or their Publication
590, Individual Retirement Arrangements, regarding
your personal tax situation. You can obtain Publication
590 by calling 1-800-TAXFORMS or by visiting the IRS
website http://www.irs.gov